State of the Markets
Understanding the Cliché: It's Not the News...
One of the oldest clichés on Wall Street suggests that "It's not the news, but how the market reacts to the news that matters." Cutting to the chase, Wednesday's market action seemed to exemplify this concept.
While large intraday swings in stocks isn't exactly a new phenom…
Are There Reasons To Be Nervous Right Now?
Despite the two-day pullback this week, the S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) begins "hump day" with a gain of 25.36 percent so far in 2013. And yet, everybody - yes, even those in the bull camp - seems to be more than a little nervous right about now.
The Bears Should Be Nervous
Big, Round Numbers
The media's fascination with round numbers on the major indices - especially the Dow Jones Industrials (NYSE: DIA) - is one of the great mysteries of the investing game. When the Dow breaks through an important milestone, there tend to be celebrations (remember Dow 10,000?). But whenever …
Does Yellen See A Bubble In Stocks?
Does anyone else find the public's obsession with identifying the next bubble amusing? Almost by definition, a bubble forms - and then ultimately bursts - when no one is looking.
To be sure, there wasn't a public outcry in early 2000 when one could purchase something like twenty o…
Understanding The Ramp Higher
It is probably a safe bet that Wednesday's ramp higher into the close left more than a few folks scratching their heads. The move created fresh all-time highs for the S&P 500 and the venerable DJIA. But wait, hadn't the market been hit hard just a couple days back? And after nearly th…
What Can Be Learned When The Algos Are In Charge?
The goal of this report, which can oftentimes be classified as a meandering morning market missive, is to identify the primary drivers of the stock market. To be sure, there are certainly times when the drivers of the action are actually quite easy to identify. And then there are days lik…
What Kind of Bull Market Is This Anyway?
It's getting to be that time of year. The time when investors start peering into their crystal balls in order to try and ascertain what might be in store for the next year. While making predictions about what the stock market might or might not do over a twelve month period tends to be a …
Expectations For The Fed's Next Move
The algos, or rather the math geeks that program the algos for the likes of Getco, Goldman, Citadel, Renaissance, and a handful of other banks/hedge funds/HFT outfits that can trade at the speed of light, appear to be a bit confused at the moment. On Thursday the S&P 500 plunged 1.32 …
Did Twitter Mark "The Top"?
After spending much of the week in meetings, airports and rental cars, it is good to be back in the saddle this morning. While business travel can certainly be a chore at times (couldn't the folks at American Airlines have figured out that the plane needed scheduled maintenance BEFORE the…